During a Monday call-in appearance on XEPRS-AM, Chargers executive vice president John Spanos explained the conversation, adding some context in the process.

"When you see L.T., and you see the kind of shape he's in, and the first time meeting him (coach) Mike (McCoy) and (general manager) Tom (Telesco), obviously knowing what he's meant to our city lends itself to the first question, 'Hey, nice to meet you, you got any carries left in you?' " Spanos said.

"There was a friendly discussion, and he made it clear he's retired and that's all it was. It's funny it's getting a lot of attention because I can tell having been there it really wasn't that big of a deal."

"I think because the conversation never really got past that initial point," Spanos said. "It was literally just a quick second, it was a comment and answer and that was it. It never really had a chance to develop beyond that. So it was just an initial introduction, and a simple question, and that's all it really was to be honest with you."

Would the Chargers have moved forward if Tomlinson indicated he was interested in coming out of retirement?

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"That's something we would've had to discuss," Spanos said. "We never got that far."

Tomlinson said he didn't realize the Chargers were serious "until they kept talking about it." Spanos indicates there was a one-off comment and nothing more. We might not ever know how the conversation actually unfolded, but the bottom line is that Tomlinson won't be a Charger in 2013.